Black eye, bloody nose, squished finger (oh yeah, I have a boy)

So this week Owen got his first black eye, a bloody nose, and for extra fun, squised his finger in a cabinet door. The black eye came on Wednesday at daycare when he got into a fight with a 3 year old and kicked his butt. Just kidding... he fell and smacked his face on a rocking chair. Poor dude. It's above his left eye (also he's in his St Patty's day gear) and looks like eye shadow.

And today at Grandma and Grandpa's he fell on one of their wooden steps (I hate those steps!) and smacked his nose. A second later blood started pouring out of his nose... poor guy! Then when getting ready for bed he squished his finger in a cabinet door in his room, which also drew blood. Get used to it, right?

And here's a pic showing how BIG he is getting! He is full-on toddler now. He's so much fun and each day talking more and signing more and expressing himself. A few days ago he started throwing insanely funny tantrums... Friday night he got mad when we took his blocks away and ran over to his wall and threw himself against it, then collapsed on the floor and banged his fists on the ground. We were like - oh my god - how could we not laugh???

Anyway... hope everyone had a good weekend. Jason and I are SORE from our 9.3 mile runs. Half marathon is 6 weeks from today!!!! http://main.acsevents.org/goto/vonderhaar

Chris xo

Running for my mom with the American Cancer Society

Hi All - it's been far too long since I posted - so sorry!

As some of you know, Jason and I will be running the Flying Pig Half Marathon on May 1, 2011 in Cincinnati to raise money for the American Cancer Society. http://main.acsevents.org/goto/vonderhaar

All of you know that I lost my mother, Maureen Kaulfers, to cancer on August 23, 2010. She was only 62 years old and was living a life truly cut short but this terrible and devastating disease. She touched the lives of so many people - teachers, friends, students, family - but for me, the loss of my mother has left a giant gaping hole in my life. It's been impossible to know how to handle this or what I can do - so raising money for the American Cancer Society seemed like a good start.

Since January, Jason and I have been dedicated to training for the half (13.1 miles). I think Mom would appreciate that we are also getting ourselves into better shape. Last weekend we ran 8.5 miles... it took me about 1.5 hours and Jason a lot shorter. If my dear hubby will be running with me on May 1 he'll have to slow his pace quite a bit! This weekend we need to each run 9.5. It's hard but I think of my Mom to keep me motivated and how I owe it to her and my family.

We've have received some great support so far but still have a ways to go to reach our fundraising goal. Any donation would be greatly appreciated! http://main.acsevents.org/goto/vonderhaar is the link to donate.

And... here's some bonus adorable pictures of our little guy, who turned 15 months old Monday!

Owen with his FIVE Mickey Mouses (Mice?)... this picture is from February.

Cute in Chicago on Mom's lap... also mid-February...

Giant Elmo & Cookie Monster hug time!

Thanks all,
Chris xo